NNPC inks MoU with Golar to build FLNG plant in Nigeria

State-owned energy company Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Norway’s Golar LNG to build a floating LNG plant in Nigeria, NNPC announced on April 27 on Twitter.

“In furtherance of its efforts to deepen Nigeria's domestic gas utilisation and enhance gas export, NNPC has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Norwegian company, Golar LNG, to build a floating LNG plant in Nigeria,” the company said.

NNPC last July made a transition into a limited liability company. The chair of its board, Nigerian senator Margery Chuba-Okadigbo, told NGW on the sidelines of the Gastech conference in Milan in September that the transformation would lead to faster decision-making and improved confidence in the organisation among stakeholders and international partners.

Nigeria is already Africa’s largest LNG exporter. Its sole liquefaction complex run by the Nigeria LNG consortium, of which NNPC is a member, is building a seventh train that will raise capacity from 22.5 to 30mn mt/yr.

Nigeria is also looking to bolster the role of gas domestically, in sectors from power generation and petrochemicals, to vehicle transport and household cooking. Chuba-Okadigbo said there needed to be an advocacy push to communicate the environmental and health benefits of gas to Nigerian citizens.